The BRICS:the Influence Of Emerging Nations On Global Economic Governance

This research paper hypothesizes that the BRICS nations are exerting influence on global economic governance and as a result there is an economic power transition shifting from the traditional Western powers who have dominated global economic governance to emerging economies. However, this paper finds that this economic power transition is occurring in increments and as a result it is unlikely that the BRICS will become a globe trend in the near future.At the end of the Cold War, the international system shifted from a bipolar system with the USA and the USSR as the two superpowers to a unipolar system with the United States as the undisputed power. However, the21st Century has seen a range of emerging economies vying for agenda setting powers within global governance institutions. The2008global financial meltdown highlighted severe problems within global economic governance. Reforms to address those weaknesses and to prevent a repeat of the recent meltdown have become a priority in world politics.The BRICS nations, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are among a group of emerging powers with the potential of changing the fabrics of global economic governance. As a result of the rapid growth and development of the BRICS, the organization of economic power in the last decade is changing resulting in a transition of economic power from the traditional leaders of the West to emerging markets. This paper seeks to examine the influence that the BRICS as emerging nations have had on global economic governance and whether the influence constitutes a power transition.In this study, the theory of power transition is outlined as having two basic conditions. It identifies that within the international system there are powerful nations that set up the rules of the international order as well as maintain the status quo. On the other hand, as other states begin to rise, the power dynamics change and newly emerging nations become dissatisfied with the status quo calling for change of global governance. As a result of this change, a need arises for the international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and other International Financial Institutions (IFIs) to be reformed in order to accommodate emerging markets.This research paper provides evidence that suggests that over the years the BRICS nations have been influential in changing the landscape of global economic governance. It provides an analysis on the functions of the BRICS nations within the Group of20and how significant they are as agenda setters in the G-20network. The paper also engages in an analysis regarding reforms that have been proposed within the IMF and the World Bank in order to make these institutions more representative of the current economic order where emerging nations are gaining a bigger stake in global economic governance. This study also examines the BRICS (not including Russia which was not a member of WTO until recently) involvement as key actors in the WTO and how they are defining the global trading system. The ongoing deadlock at the Doha Round negotiations is used to illustrate the bargaining power that emerging nations now have over multilateral trade organizations.Despite the recent financial volatility, which is accelerating many ongoing trends, the international system as we know it is not headed towards a complete breakdown. By examining the power transition theory, the results found are that the BRICS as rising powers are not revolutionary in nature. What we are seeing is not a period of revisionisms, but attempts of adjustments and reforms to the existing rules and structures of the global economic order to reflect contemporary times.Furthermore, what this study highlights is that changes thus far been minimal and it is unlikely that the BRICS will completely reconstruct established liberal capitalist institutions in the foreseeable future. This is primarily the point that is reiterated in this paper, that despite the BRICS growing influence in global economic governance, the degree of influence they possess should not be overemphasized. The conclusion drawn is that, although the BRICS undoubtedly have an impact on global economic governance there is too much hype surrounding them. They still have a long way to go until they can completely be categorized as engines of global economic governance.